Market Acceptance Challenges for Alternative Energy Projects in T&T

Alternative energy is high on the policy agenda in countries around the world and most governments have set ambitious targets and have implemented support schemes aimed at facilitating market acceptance. The same is true here in the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, with the Government’s announcement in its 2016 fiscal budget of its intention to achieve 10% renewable energy (RE) penetration by 2021.

In T&T, the price of electricity for residential customers averages around US$0.06/kWh while the equivalent for the rest of the Caribbean is approximately US$0.34/kWh. This fact brings with it unique challenges to market acceptance of RE to T&T. Some of these marketing challenges include:

Lack of consumer awareness and understanding of RE projects leads to skepticism by the potential customers.

Existing small market size limits the type of market strategy that could be applied.

Past market failure in other Caribbean territories have lead T&T investors to be risk averse towards the T&T RE market.

Existing fossil fuel energy based “subsides” make RE unattractive due to its longer pay-back period as compared to other Caribbean countries.

Perceived “Oil Patrimony” by T&T citizens has resulted in citizens believing that they have the right to cheap energy regardless of the associated environmental issues.

Some of these barriers to entry to the T&T RE Market can be removed by:

Amending of the T&TEC Act and RIC Actto support renewable electricity grid integration.

Establishment of an incentivized Feed In Tariff (FIT) by the RIC.

Creation of an attractive Policy and Regulatory Frameworks by GORTT.

Easy access to financing (via grants for example).

These overarching issues can be addressed by partnering with RE Market Leaders with internationally accepted manufacturing, distribution and installation supply chains with the roll out of communications, advertising and public relation campaigns to create RE project awareness and brand loyalty. In the end the future of marketing RE must focus Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer theorem of “Ego to Eco” where the ultimate aim is to market RE so that society evolves from one of natural self-interest to one of shared interest of the eco-system.